Wire supply mechanism



Feb. 15, 1944.

C. M. FORNWALD, JR

WIRE SUPPLY MECHANISM Filed Dec. 8, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 JNVEN TOR.CHHRLES M- FORNWHLQJIE ATTORNE S Feb. 15, 1944.

c. M. FORNWALD, JR 2,341,707

WIRE SUPPLY MECHANISM Filed Dec. 8, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 EEI 1N VENTOR. CHHRL E 5 M. FO/PNWHLD, JR-

BQJ O QAJ HTTORNEYS Feb. 15, 1944. c FQRNWALD, JR 2,341,707

WIRE SUPPLY MECHANISM Filed Dec; 8, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig-E IN VENTOR. CHHRLES M FORNWHLD, JR.

HTTORNE rs Feb. 15; 1944. c, o w JR 2,341,707

WIRE SUPPLY MECHANI SM Filed'Dec. 8, 1942 5 Sheets-SheetA INVENTOR.CHFIRLES M. FORNWRLD, Jfi BY Q 0.1

H 77 RNE YS Feb. 15, 1944.

C. M. FORNWALD, JR

WIRE SUPPLY MECHANISM Filed Dec. 8, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOKVCHHRL 5 M- FORNWHLD, JR. a; ah

HTTORNEYS e se-.1 at. is, 1944 4 combination,

2,341,701 g v wmu surrm MECHANIM Charles M. Fornwaldf Jr., Linden, N 1.,assignor to Syncro Machine Co m, m, N. 1.,

a corporation cit-New Jersey g I application December a, 1942, SerialNo. 468,247 14 Claims. 1(01. 242?) inventiorris directed improvements inmechanism employed'forsupplying wire and similar strands to wireprocessing machines, as for exampleiwire drawing machines, functioningso as to preventi breakage of the wire or strand should the supplybecome locked or tangled.

The, general combination of this invention 3 comprises the associationwith any type of strand orwire processing machine, as for example a wiredrawing machine, mechanism for supplying the strand or wire frame coiland controlled by the wire for preventing its breakage in the event thatthe coils of the supply become locked or the wire klnked and tangledsufflciently tootherwise cause breakagethereof.

The many and detailed objects of this invention will be betterunderstood following a detailed description of the embodiment thereofillustrated in the attached drawings rather than by a generalizeddescription thereof at this time.

This inventionresides substantially in the nstruction, arrangement andrelative location of'parts, all as will be described in detail below. Av I In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevationalview ofa wire drawing machine with which is associated the improved wire supplymechanism of this invention;-

Figure 2 is a top plan'vie'w thereof;

- Figure 3 isanenlarged vertical, central, cross sectional viewwith'some parts in elevation of the improved mechanism of thisinvention;

Figure 4 is a right hand side elevational view thereof;

Figure 5 is a detailed broken view partly in cross-section showing thereleasing device for the mechanism;

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view showing this release mechanism inreleased position; and

Figure 'I is an enlarged detail; cross-sectional view oi the wire drumcam locking device.

The description of the embodiment oi the invention selectec for thepurpose of illustrating and describing the nature thereof will be madefor the combination of a wire drawing machine with thewire supplymechanism of the invention. From the entire disclosure it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limitedin lts combination with wire drawing machines but may be employedwithall type ofstrand processing machineswhere the strand is suppliedthereto from a supply reservoir in the form 0'! coils. Likewise, in someinstances the invention may be of use in connection with the supplyoistrandstrom spools.

In Figures l and 2 a wire drawing machine I is illustrated in generaloutline only since it forms no part of this invention. The illustrationincludes a drive motor 2 for the wire drawing 5 machine, a bull block 3,and a spooling mecha-,

nism .4. The wire supply mechanism of this invention is generallyillustrated by the refer-' ence numeral 5. The wire W is placed on thisa mechanism in e form of acoil 6, which is ing and paying 03 support.

I The mechanism itself comprises a framework of any suitable type, whichas illustrated may comprise a standard 1, and a integral frameworkcomprising angle bars 8 and 9. and plate I0. This qframework maybe builtup in any suitable manner.

The wire the form of a' coil 6 is mounted upon a suitable turntable I Ifrom which thewire emay be paid oil as it revolves. The wire firstpasses through any suitable form of guide means such as the tube i2forming part of the turntable,

comprising part of the usual supply stand, and from which it passes toan adjustable tensioning or drag device It illustrated in Figure 4 as a'10 supported thereon by any suitable form of holdpair of spring loadedfriction plates of any suitable material. The wire W then passes througha guide ll to an idler pulley l 5 rotatably mounted on the free end of alever IS. The wire then 6 passes onto a rotatable carrier in the form ofa drum H, as illustrated, on which it liesin contiguous convolutions,the number of which suitable to the function of the machine, be referredto later. iliary reservoir or storage member to-which the wire travelson its way from the main supplycoil 6 to the bull block 3. The wire thenpasses from the drum II to and around an idler pulley.

l8 rotatably mounted on the free end of an arm Ill. The central plane ofthe idler pulley l8 lies substantially in a plane tangent to thecylindrical portion of the drum ll on which the convolutions lie, as isclear from Figure 4; The wire then passes from the pulley l8 to theprocessing machine of the figures.

The arms l8 and i9 and the drum I! are rotatably mounted on suitablebearings supported by tubular member 20 mounted in any suitable 5 manneron the plate l0. The-left hand end of the member 20 is internallythreaded and re- J ceives an externally-threaded 'plug 22 which may 'beadjusted to diilerent tensions of spring 36, I which will be describedlater. 55 end of the member 20 is provided with diametri- The right handThe carrier comprises an auxchine,v as for example the wire drawing ma-'cally op posed slots and "is closed by .means of a plug or wall member2|, as is clear from Figure 3. in: within the tubular member 22 andextending through the closure members 24 and 22 with a sliding fit, isa-plunger rod 22 provided with a handle grip 24 on the end whichprojects from theslotted end of the member 22. The end of the rod 22which extends through the plug 22 is provided with a short lever 2 Spositioned toengage-the roller on the end of a switch lever 22,

forming part of the switch 21. The switch 21 is supported from the plateiii in any suitable manner, as for example by means of the bracket,

as shown in Figure3; The lever holds the ing pin 22 which lies in the'slotsfin the end of the member a and also lies between the pairs ofprojections 22 on 'the outer face of the arm I! (see also Figured)Projecting from the opposite; face of the arm is is a pair of spacedprojections 22 (see also Figure 4) between which lies an ear 2| attachedto an externally extendingbrake 22 engaging. the hub of the drum [1. Asshownin Figure 4, this brake is loaded by means ofa spring 22 whichoperates to cause the brake band to engage the drum 11 under a pressurewhich m y be readily adjusted by means of the lock nuts which controlthe tension of the spring 22. The brake structure itself is not novel,it being a sim-.

ple spring operated externallyicontracting brake comprising a band'surroundingthe-h'ub of the drum l1 and lined with a suitable brakelining.

The rod, 22 is provided with of notched collar 24 which is pinnedthereto, as illustrated in the "drawings; and the notch of which ispositioned to receive the latch "when radially aligned therewith, asillustrated in Figure 5. The latch 25 is mounted upon the arm. It formovement with it, As clearly shown in Figure 3, a spring22' liesbetween'the'positionabie plug 22 and the col-- hr :4, so that shaft a isurged' to the right under the pressure of spring 2!, adjustable bypositioning plug 22 as. required. -Pivotally' con- /nected to them It bythepivot pin "is and 21which is-slidably mounted in adiametral hole inthe guide as which is rotatably' mounted on th platelfl as can be seenfrom Figures 3 and 5.

The free end ofthe rod 21 is threaded and is provided with a Pair oflock nuts against which'one in drawing maclnne I, to come 50 spring 42whose" Figures 5 and 0.- At this time it will be seen that the wire Whas been fed-from the coil' 8 through t e s lde'tube l2, the adjustabledrag l2, the eyelet ll, aroundthe idler pulley II, around the 5 drum IIa number'of times and around the pul-;

ley I! from which it passes to the wire drawing machine I. Thenumber ofconvolutions of wire on the drum II will depend upon the time it takesthe processing machine, as for example the wire a stop after the powersupply thereto is shut o up with this'i s the consideration of how muchwire the processing machine 'will demand during this stopping period.Sui'licient wire should be 5 placed on the drum i1 so that it will notall be used up by the time the processing machine comes to a stop.

During normal conditions of operation the Q "wire will besupplied fromthe coil 6 to the proc- 20688128183612. Atthistime thewirewill besupplied'to drum II at the-left hand side (see Figure 4 and be suppliedfrom that drum to andfrom-the pulley l8. 'Ihesuriace of the. drum I! onwhich the wire. convolutions lie is "5 slightly tapered towards therisht so that'the cominginat-th'e'deft will gradually be borne overtowards the right by the succeeding turns, and will be delivered fromthe layer at the 118111: hand'mid. The arm'll is locked against rotationby the pin 22 and the brake 22 merely operates as a drag 9n the i1 topr'event'itirom overrunning.' The engagement oi the lug 4| of the brake22 witlf'. the

cars 32 on the arm ll holds the brake stationas My While P m! it toprevent overrunning oi the drum in apparent manner. The drag causedby't'he brake is adjustable altpreviously explained.

v V, i 1-. .The arm"|6'loaded' by the spring 40 during the 40 period ofnormal operation acts as a sort oi .bufler arm to absorb slight vtension in' the wire due to any-ca ons in the For example,should thewirefeedingfroin' the coil i I become momentarily locked with adjaoentconvolutions the increase in tension imthe' wire may cause. the an toswing downwardly in a f counter-clockwise; direction towards thedotl'aid dash line position-shown 'in Figure '4'.; Thcse 'movements of the armit are buifereds by the viously explained. tions of the wirelock with thieehing' wire, or

end of theoompression-spring it rests. The other creases sufliciently tocause arm I .to be pulled end of-the spring ensues the guide 28.

Mounted within the drum n in a position toj engage an inner facethereof, is a cam ll which as shown in Figure 'l, is pivotally mountedby means of the cap screw 42 upon a standard 44 which in turn isattached to the plate It. A small compression spring 42 engages the cam4| tending to move it in a directionopposite the normal direction ofrotation of the drum l1, as indicated by the arrow in Figure a;

.A few miscellaneous items remain-to be mentioned, as for example thecounterweight it" (see *Figure'4) for the lever I, the carriage ll whichprevents the wire from coming oi! the idler pulr; i ley l8, and theperipheral flanges for the drum l1 (see Figures) toform a trough inwhich the "convolutions ofthe wire on the drumlie. Y

Theoperation 01 9121218 mechanism will now be described. It is tothattheparts are a in the position shown ail -of'the iiguresiexcept 7;

down to the dot dash line position of Fig- 4, against the resistance ofspring 40, then I thelatchllwfll align witlithe radial 'slot in Y thecollar 24. By way of example, if the wire go becomes kinked, when-thatkink reaches the guide tube l2 the sfipply of wirewill stop, causing thearm. to immediately swing down to this position. As soon as the latch 2|aligns with the-slot and collar 34, spring- 28 will force shaft 22 totheposition shown inFlgure6. This dlsengages the pin 28 from-the finger-22on the arm i8 and causes the operation of switch 21 i an obvious manner.At'this point it is to be notedthat the switch 21 is associated with'thepower circuit for the motor 2 directly or through of course, tled eflectis adjustable, jasspre Should adjacent oonvoluwire drawing machinelbegins."

The disengagement oi'the pin 28 from the arm it releases that amino that-due to the wire demands of the-p machine, it rotates on the tubularmember 20 unwinding the wire from the drum II to continue the supply ofwire to thewire drawing machine. As viewed from Figured, the arm I!rotatesin motor 2 is cut off and the coasting period for the a clockwisedirection, that is in-a direction oppo'site' to the-normal direction .ofrotation of the drum l1. Dining this period the action of the brake 32is transferred to the arm I! preventing it from running ahead of thewire requirements of the drawing} machine. It is now required that therebe a member against which the brake whichis now rotating with, the arm19 may react: This is provided by the cam ll which in the normaloperation of drum ll rotates against its inner surface and is preventedfrom gripping by the angle of its force against "drum H. The cam lllightly engages the in- Q What is claimed is:

tothesoope oi'theclaimsgrantedme.

1. In a mechanism of the type described, the combination includingasupport for a strand coil,

a normally rotatable carrier positioned to receive and support aplurality of convolutions of said l strand, means for guiding the.strand thereto,

means for guiding the strandthierefrom, said'last two means beingnormally stationary as said carrier revolves, so that the number ofconvolutio'r'ls on the carrier remains constant, and means for stoppingthe rotation of said carrier and releas ing for rotation the means forguiding the strand therefrom upon the stoppage of the strand supply fromthe coil to said carrier.

2. In-a mechanism of the type described,- the 20 combination including asupport for a strand her surface of the drum II but is so positioned andshaped that in cooperation with spring (3 it will not-interfere with thenormal counterclockwise rotation of drum l1. However, when the action ofthe brake 32- is transferred to the arm iii the 'drum II will actuallytend to rocoil, a'normally rotatable carrier positioned to receive and.supp rt a plurality of convolutions of said strand, means for guidingthe strand there-- to, means for guiding the strand therefrom, said lasttwo'means being normally stationary as said tate in a clockwisedirection with the arm l9,-

but this is prevented by the cam 4| which swings about pivot pin 42aided by the spring 43 to grip the drum i1 and lock it against movement.Thus untiL the wire; drawing machine comes to a stop the arm I! willrotate so as to unwind the wire from the spool on drum II, with theresult that breakage of the wire cannot occur even though the sup lyfrom the coil 6 is stopped. As previously mentioned there is suffi'cientwire on the drum I! so that the machine i. is certain to come to astopbefore the suppLv thereof is used up;

' Before again starting the wire drawing machine after the trouble iseliminated, as for example the tangle is clear, suflicient turns or wirecarrier revolves, so that the number of convolutions-on the carrierremains constant, means for stopping the rotation of said carrier andcausing the rotation of the means for guiding the strand 3o therefromupon the stop age of the strand minuntil the latch "is released,whereupon spring an pulls arm l6 up to normal position. 'By this timethe pin 28. has moved between the ears 2! on the arm I! and the lever 25has moved back tothe position shown in figure 3. Switch it is preferablyof a type in which the lever 2' thereof is biased by a spring so that itfollows the lever 25 back to the position shown in Figure 3. The machineis again ready for normal operation and the wire drawing machine can beset in motion.

Those skilled in this art will readily appreciate the advantages of amechanism oi this type as residing in the fact that by preventing ebreakage of the .wire the nuisance ofrejoining it at the break andrethreading the processing machine is eliminated. Other advantages arefound in the relativesimplicity and compactness of the mechanism beoperated and reset for-operation;

and the ease with which it. may

From the above description i'unu be apparent v means.

.ply from the coil to said carrier, and means for locking the carrieragainst movement during rotation of said means for guiding the strandi'rom' the carrier. i

3. In the combination of claim 1, means con- 1. trolled by the means forguiding the strand to said -carrier for causing the carrier to stop andthe means for guiding the strand from the carrier to rotate.

4. In a machine of the type described, the combination including asupport for a strand, coil, a rotatable carrier, means pivoted on the'axis of the carrier for guiding the strand from the coil to thecarrier, means rotatably mounted on the axis I 5 of the carrier iordelivering the strand from the carrier, means for locking said lastmeans against a rotation, and means controlled by the means for guidingthe strand to the carrier upon undue increase in tension in the strandfor unlocking said delivery means so that it may rotate with respect tosaid carrier.

5. In a machine of the type described, the

combination including a support for a strand coil, a rotatable carrier,means pivoted on the axis of 5 the carrier for guiding the strandfromthe coil to the carrier. means rotatably mounted on the axis of thecarrier for delivering the strand from the carrier, meansior lockingsaidlast means against rotation, means controlled by the means forguiding the strand to the carrier upon undue increase in tension in thestrand for unlocking said delivery means so that it may rotate withrespect to said carrier, and a friction device interconnecting6.1namthineofthe typedescribedthe combination including a support for 'astrand coil.

a rotatable carrier, means pivoted on the axis of the carrier forguiding the strand fromthe coil to the carrier, means rotatably mountedon the to those skilled'in'the art thatth'e aubiectmatter of thisinvention may-be other 1| axis or the carrier for delivering the strandfrom the carrier, means for locking said last means against rotation,means controlled by the means tor-guiding the strand to thecarrier uponundue increase inltension lnvthe strand for unlocking ical ,forms. I donot, therefore, desire tobe strictly, limited to the disclosure as giventor purposes of illustration, but rather the carrier with said deliveryI means for locking the carrier against rotation with said deliverymeans.

'Lmamechanismofthetypedescribedthe combination comprising a support fora strand coil, a rotatable carrier for supporting a desired length ofthe strand in the form of convolutions,

a guiding member pivoted on the axis of the carrier for guiding thestrand from the coil tothe carrier, a member rotatably mounted on theaxis of the carrier for guiding the strand from the carrier, a frictiondevice interconnecting the carrier with said last means, means forlocking said delivery means against rotation, and means controlled bysaid supply guide means for releasing said lock-upon movement of saidmeans upon undue increase in tension in the strand.'.-8.Inamechanismofthetype described the combination comprising a,support for a strand coil, a rotatable carrier for supporting a desiredlength of the strand in the formof convolutions, a guiding memberpivoted onthe axis of the carrierior guiding the strand from the coil tothe carrier, a member rotatably mounted on the axis of the carrier forguiding the strand from the carrier, a friction device interconnectingthe carrier with said last mea'ns,means for locking said de- 3nyieidingly resisting movement of said first guiding means, wherebythe-normal variations in the livery means against rotation, means"controlled by said supply guide means for releasingsald look uponmovement of said means upon undue 9. In astrand supply 'e. combina tionincluding a strand supply support, a normally rotatable drum, a normallystationary rotatably supported means iortguiding the strand from saiddrum and means for causing rotation 5 of the guiding means and stoppageof the drum to supply the strand directly from the drum upon stoppage orthe supply of strand to the drum.

10. In the combination of claim 9, said last means being actuated upon,the presence of excess pull on the strand going to the drum.

11. In the combination of claim 9, a control device for stopping amachine to which the strand is fed from the strand supply machine,

a said control device being actuated by said rotation causing means. I

12. In a strand'supply machine, the combine.

'tion including a rotatabiy su mally stationary movably su rectingastrand to said drum, rotatably supportrted drum, anor- 2 ed means i'orguiding the strand from-the drum.

rted guide'tor dimeans for holding said second guiding means normallystationary, said last means being released by said first guidingmeans'when the tension in the strand fed thereto unduly increases.whereby said second guiding'means is released for rotatension in thestrand are absorbed.

14. In the combination of claim 12, means for I preventing reverserotation of said drum while saidsecond guiding means is rotating.

